Concrete in line discharge gate



United States Patent 3,520,333 CONCRETE IN LINE DISCHARGE GATE Oliver A. De Young, Jr., East Moline, [1]., and John F.

Nelson, Le Claire, Iowa, assignors to Mechanical Constructors Inc, Moline, Ill.

Filed Sept. 26, 1967, Ser. No. 670,721 Int. Cl. F16! 55/10 US. Cl. 138-92 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A concrete in line discharge gate having a quick release coupling unit and a removable gate member mounted on a pipe with a discharge opening to distribute concrete.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the past it has been conventional on construction projects to pump concrete through a piping system to distribute the concrete to various points about the project and fill the forms used to shape the concrete into walls, floors, doors, etc. The combination pipe and discharge gate assembly of this invention is inserted in the piping system, and the assembly allows for the uniform distribution of concrete, for example, into a wall form when the concrete wall is poured using the pumping method. The assembly eliminates the need for the continuous handling of a discharge hose from the piping system, and also, the handling of additional pipe lengths, etc.

In actual operation, the assembly in accordance with the invention would be installed at predetermined intervals of any chosen length in the concrete distribution pipe, which of course is used in conjunction with a pump which forces the concreate through the piping system.

Prior art patents Prior patents only generally related to the present invention, are US. Pats. 2,918,941; 2,900,814; 2,021,108; 906,989; 320,981 and 624,715.

For example, the Longenecker Pat. 2,021,108 shows a discharge gate for concrete, however, the discharge gate of this patent is unsatisfactory in many ways, for example because it is bulky, has a complicated structure, and is difficult to use in actual construction operations. The assembly of the present invention possesses several advantages over the prior art discharge gates such as shown by Longenecker. First, the assembly described herein has a considerably more basic and simple construction than the prior art. Second, the assembly herein is considerably less expensive to construct. Third, the assembly herein takes less room for operation. Fourth, the assembly herein is capable of construction essentially entirely from elements presently used in concrete piping systems. Fifth, the assembly herein requires no complicated system of lever arms which are easily damaged and subject to jamming in actual operation on construction projects.

At this point it should be related that a primary advantage of the assembly in accordance with this invention is that it can be constructed entirely from pipe segments and coupling devices presently available in the construction industry, and this of course means that the preparation or manufacture of these assemblies is easily carried out at a 'low cost without the necessity of designing and/ or preparing additional parts such as hinges, lever arms, trap doors or the like.

Objects Accordingly, it is the object of this invention to provide an improved combination pipe and discharge gate assembly for use in the distribution of concrete through piping systems on construction projects.

3,520,333 Patented July 14, 1970 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates a combination pipe and discharge gate assembly unit in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross sectional view along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Broadly stated, the invention comprises a combination pipe and discharge gate assembly for distributing concrete comprising a pipe of relatively short length, recessed collar portions generally adjacent each end of said pipe to enable attachment thereof to at least one separate adjacent pipe having a corresponding recessed collar portion, a pair of generally adjacent annular grooves positioned exteriorly on said pipe intermediate each end thereof, a removable gate member forming a wall portion of said pipe and positioned such that said grooves pass around the exterior of the member, a quick release coupling ring which fits in engaged position with said annular grooves to thereby hold said gate member in closed position, with said ring being capable of rapid removal when it is desired to distribute concrete past the gate member.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A description of the invention is set forth below pursuant to the drawing in FIGS. 1 and 2, however, it should be understood that this description is illustrative only and it should not be taken as a limitation in any way on the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a combination pipe and discharge gate assembly generally designated 10. The assembly 10 includes a unitary pipe 12 having recessed collar portions designated 14 at each end thereof. The recessed collar portions 14 allow for the assembly 10 to be fastened to an adjoining pipe in the pumping system such as 12a, having a corresponding recessed collar portion 14a at the end thereof as shown on the right hand side of FIG. 1.

A coupling mechanism 16 as shown in FIG. 1 is used in a manner such that the recessed collar portions 14 and 14a on the abutting pipes 12 and 12a can be fastened together. The coupling mechanism 16 in effect clamps around the two abutting pipes fitting into the recesses thereof on the ends to thereby lock the pipes in adjoining position. The coupling mechanism is then held in fixed position by means such as a bolt 18 and nut 19. The coupling mechanism 16 is conventional in the art and of course similar constructions to that shown could be used, for example, of varying sizes, etc.

The pipe 12 is of relatively short length and is constructed such that it can be fitted into a piping system for use in pumping concrete on construction projects. For example, the pipe 12 could be of approximately two feet in length and four inches inside diameter, with these figures being given only for purposes of illustration since actually a number of different diameters or lengths could be used for the pipe depending on the particular application in which the assembly 10 is to be used.

A pair of adjacent annular grooves 20 are shown positioned generally at the middle of the pipe 12. These grooves 20 can be formed in the pipe 12 using any suitable means apparent to those skilled in the art. Normally, the grooves 20 would be first formed in the pipe 12 and then the gate member 22 which forms a wall of the pipe 12 as shown in FIG. 1, would be cut away from the pipe to form a removable wall section of the pipe which hangs loose from the pipe 12, but still connected thereto by the chain member designated 24.

The gate member 22 which forms a wall portion of the pipe 12, as already mentioned above, can be removed from the assembly to allow for distribution of concrete passing through the pipe 12 out through the discharge opening 22a. formed by removal of the gate 22 and into the forms used in the pouring of concrete.

As can be seen from the drawing of FIG. 1, the annular grooves pass completely around the exterior of the pipe 12 such that the grooves 20 are also formed on the exterior of the gate 22 to continue around the entire periphery of the pipe. The gate 22 is held in position in the assembly through the use of a quick release coupling ring generally designated 30, shown in FIG. 1 with a partially cutaway section for ease of illustration.

The quick release coupling ring 30 operates as follows. First, the coupling ring 30 in engaged fixed position has interior raised ridge members 32 which fit into and correspond with the annular grooves 20 such that when the coupling 30 is locked in position, it is prevented from any lengthwise sliding movement along the pipe and at the same time it acts to hold the gate member 22 in position to thereby form a wall section of the pipe 12 by locking into the grooves 20 which continue around the exterior of the gate member 22, as indicated at the portions designated 20a in FIG. 1.

The quick release coupling ring 30 is more clearly described by FIG. 2, which shows a cross sectional view along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1. In FIG. 2 it can be seen that the quick release coupling ring can be opened or closed by a suitable means such as a tongue 40 and groove 42 connector. In order to open the coupling ring the arm 44 is grasped manually and pulled outwardly away from the ring and this pivots the tongue 40 out of its pressed engagement with the groove 42 formed on the raised projection 45 on the upper half 31 of the coupling ring. This enables the coupling ring to be quickly released and leaves the arm member 44 with the tongue element 40 thereon hanging freely in pivotable relationship from the lower arm 46 which is fastened to the lower half 33 of the ring 30 by the pin connection designated 48.

Strap-like plates 23 are preferably attached at each end of the gate member 22, for example, by welding or any other suitable means of attaching the straps to the gate. The strap-like gates 23 function in a manner which facilitates the positioning of the gate member 22 into the pipe 12 in order to form a wall section thereof, and the straps 23 enable the gate 22 to be butted up against the outside surface designated on the pipe 12.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiments of the invention disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A combination pipe and discharge gate assembly for distributing concrete and other suitable materials comprising:

a pipe of relatively short length,

recessed annular grooved collar portions generally adjacent each end of said pipe toenable attachment thereof to at least one separate adjacent pipe having a corresponding recessed annular grooved collar portion,

a pair of generally adjacent annular grooves positioned exteriorly on said pipe intermediate each end thereof,

a removable gate member forming a wall portion of said pipe and positioned such that said grooves pass around the exterior of the gate member,

a quick release coupling ring which fits in engaged position with said annular grooves, to thereby hold said gate member in closed position, with said ring being capable of rapid uncoupling when it is desired to distribute material past the gate member,

flange means fixedly positioned at each end of said gate member for providing an abutting engagement between said member and said pipe, said coupling ring including tongue and groove connector means for rapidly opening and closing said ring, and

wherein when said gate member is removed from its position forming a wall portion of the assembly there is formed an opening through which material is discharged.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein,

said annular grooved collar portions at each end of said pipe are positioned equidistantly inwardly from said each end of said pipe, whereby said collar portions provide for attachment to said separate adjacent pipe at each said ends,

said each separate adjacent pipe also having a recessed annular grooved collar portion positioned equidistantly inwardly from the end of said separate adjacent pipe, to thereby enable a coupling mechanism to be placed over and couple together each end of said pipe of relatively short length with a separate adjacent pipe.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,092,961 9/ 1937 Eickstaedt 13892 FOREIGN PATENTS 988,127 4/1951 France.

HOUSTON S. BELL, Jr., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 25 l146 

